Executive Orders and Statutes

Through the faith-based initiative, which began during the Bill Clinton administration and has been vigorously pressed by the George W. Bush administration, federal policies and practices (and state and local policies and practices, when federal funds are involved) are being brought into alignment with what we can call new level-playing field standards. These standards come from two similar sets of principles, Charitable Choice and Equal Treatment.

The Charitable Choice principles were enacted into law by Congress in several programs during the Clinton administration.

The Equal Treatment principles were promulgated by President Bush in an Executive Order (no. 13279, Dec., 2002) and have since then been incorporated into the general administrative regulations of federal departments by means of the federal rule-making process.

Whether enacted by statute or promulgated by Executive Order and the regulatory process, Charitable Choice and Equal Treatment are equally federal law. The two sets of principles are grounded in the U.S. Supreme Court's shift from extreme church-state separationism to the "neutrality" interpretation of the First Amendment.

For details on Charitable Choice and Equal Treatment, go to Church-State Standards.